debunk

verb

de·​bunk (ˌ)dē-ˈbəŋk 

debunked; debunking; debunks

transitive verb

: to expose the sham (see sham entry 1 sense 2) or falseness of

debunk a legend

debunker noun

Did you know?

To debunk something is to take the bunk out of it—that bunk being nonsense. (Bunk is short for the synonymous bunkum, which has political origins.) Debunk has been in use since at least the 1920s, and it contrasts with synonyms like disprove and rebut by suggesting that something is not merely untrue but is also a sham—a trick meant to deceive. One can simply disprove a myth, but if it is debunked, the implication is that the myth was a grossly exaggerated or foolish claim.

Synonyms of debunk

• refute
• disprove
• discredit

Examples of debunk in a Sentence

The article debunks the notion that life exists on Mars.

The results of the study debunk his theory.

Recent Examples on the Web

The authors have clearly considered most of the arguments against their natalist positions, and much of the book is devoted to debunking common objections to the call for more babies. —Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025

However, the sibling filmmaking duo are here to debunk one other popular fan theory still lingering out there. —Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Dec. 2025

Wild reports—later debunked—of lights signalling to Japanese vessels offshore proliferated. —Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025

And Millennial dads aren’t doing much to debunk the myths. —Phillip Goericke, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for debunk

• bunk
• chunk
• clunk
• drunk
• dunk
• hunk
• junk
• punk
• shrunk
• slunk
• spunk
• sunk

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Kids Definition

debunk

verb

de·​bunk (ˈ)dē-ˈbəŋk 

: to expose the falseness in

debunk popular myths

debunker noun